<p>Freerider, I did not have many suggestions because I know the East Coast the best, and you said you were not interested in the East Coast schools, and also others have given you wonderful ideas on schools. I cannot tell if you are interested in a BM degree, or want a BA but with good exposure to theory and composition.</p>
<p>Have you studied any theory at school or on the weekends? Not necessary to have done so, just curious, since you have the interest.</p>
<p>Noone mentioned Oberlin, in Ohio. You could apply to the conservatory (tough to get in to, but you could try w/clarinet perhaps, or compositions if you have some, actually 4 as I remembe,that you feel comfortable submitting). You could also apply to the college, and benefit from the conservatory. There is a lot of movement and interaction between the two.</p>
<p>Lawrence is another one. Macalaster, perhaps-?</p>
<p>That's about as far west as I can go. In Massachusetts, BU, UMass Amherst, Tufts, Harvard would all be good. Bennington in Vt. has a music major, and a lot of freedom to explore. Brandeis is good for grad., don't know about undergrad. NYU, Sarah Lawrence in NY. That's about the best I can do, outside of conservatories.</p>
<p>I wrote a lot on that other thread that I mentioned. Our daughter wanted to go to conservatory and went through the audition process at 4 schools, did pretty well, but ended up at Harvard, where, frankly, financial aid is great. She researched web sites and got information from music departments at a few colleges, and also visited/attended classes (where she was accepted). She picked Harvard because the music major there involves potentially half her classes (16), whereas other schools' music majors are only 10 courses or so. The courses and faculty looked great, and they are. I would say that the music theory and history are very rigorous there, but she loves them.</p>
<p>One thing to mention about colleges music BA programs: at least for the first couple of years, she is doing composition (and guitar) outside of Harvard. Someone said this but I will repeat: studying composition is as intense as studying an instrument, and involves private lessons. Most college BA programs, as opposed to conservatories, don't offer that kind of private instruction early on (actually, Tufts and Yale are exceptions that I know of, and there are, I'm sure, more). Right now, our daughter plans on working with a composition teacher once a month or so, and works on her own in between. Later, she can do independent studies and things like that, which would be available at a lot of the schools you might look at.</p>
<p>There are some great books available, by the way. "Creative Colleges" is one, and there are also big college guides for the performing arts (Peterson's, I think). These have lists of school music programs, with details about each. And looking at school websites, at music department course offerings and degree requirements, will help you not only figure out specific schools to apply to, but give you a good overview of what is out there, and what the issues and questions are.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>